Backstory to “On the Symbolism of Juggling”

It was my son Colin who got me — and later, the whole family — into juggling. We would go to Golden Gate Park on Sunday afternoons when the jugglers would convene, hang out, and of course juggle.

We also attended the International Jugglers’ Association conventions in Los Angeles, Saint Louis, Burlington (Vermont) and Montreal.

Colin and his brother Corey became quite adept to juggling and unicycle riding. But I could never manage the unicycle, and could only juggle four balls maximum. Still, over the years I gained some real insights into the history and practice of the “deft manipulation of objects,” and so wrote up my thoughts and presented them to the Popular Culture Association, which printed the essay when it was completed.